We don't have a methodology. We have talent.
Takes a lot to get me angry, but this post did.
And it's not just because someone lost their job to AI, but also the fact the company behind it is trying to claim they've developed "a proprietary AI platform" to justify it. There's nothing proprietary about a custom GPT other than the company logo.
Let's cut through the bullshit for a minute. Countless agencies around the world talk about their proprietary methodology, their unique process, their breakthrough framework that sets them apart.
The Strategic Accelerator Model™. The Brand Truth Discovery Process®. The Consumer Insight Activation System©.
It's all complete rubbish.
You know what the only real point of difference is between agencies? The people.
We all use the same research tools. We all follow roughly the same creative development process. We all use InDesign and Figma. We all use the same stock photo libraries.
The difference between a campaign that wins Cannes and one that dies in market isn't the methodology. It's whether the strategist actually understands human behaviour. Whether the creative can see an idea that no one else saw. Whether the art director knows how to make people stop scrolling.
It's the people. It's always been the people. And they're not using a proprietary process. They're using their brains, their experiences, their knowledge, their journey.
Here's the kicker: half the time, those people, the ones actually creating the breakthrough work, are freelancers. Brought in for the pitch, brought in for the big ideas, brought in because the full-time team were too busy looking after their clients.
We built the Pitch Collective around this simple truth: stop pretending it's about your methodology, and start being honest about what it's actually about.
The talent. The people who care about solving your problem instead of buzz-wording you with their framework.
We've just removed the expensive bit in the middle, the bit that adds cost but not value, the bit that creates distance between you and the people who actually understand what they're doing.
Sure, we're more expensive than AI, but we're human.
#ThePitchCollective #AgencyTruth #RealTalk